Tabooed Connectons
by Girlaremo
Summary: When the countries aren't mediating and talking nonsense, they can live on Earth instead of their world. Relationships are prohibited and tabooed, but happen in secret. What happens when a certain country finds love with a human? Suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1

_The entities of the earth live in two realms: Their world, and Earth. Their world, referred to as 'Home' to these entities. Each one lives in their own country they represent, moving around Earth with as much ease as a normal person, immortality is still valid on Earth, so at any time, they could go to their own country, given they aren't forgotten or destroyed. _

_The only thing that these entities cannot do, like any other force, they cannot under any circumstances have a relationship with a human. Catastrophe would erupt across the land, and the country could risk losing his or her immortality._

* * *

The rings he had run around me were almost unbearable. I had realized that Arthur had a child-nation with him after the nineteen seventies, and the fact that he was like Arthur himself was just a little annoying.

"...And some day, I'm gonna be a big country, and I'll be on my own, and I'll never have to deal with Uncle Iggy ever again! I'll be big, strong and I'll probably be trade partners with you!" Peter smiled, running in circles in order to keep himself busy.

I myself was just minding my own business when Arthur asked me to babysit Peter. He had some business in London, and he said it was 'dior to attend to'. Maybe there was a problem with the royal family he had to demand to, or someone had a random idea to ask him over. Puttering around the internet, I checked Book-a-Face. Nothing was going on, really. Just my normal friends, my human family I was raised with, and maybe the couple world leaders were my 'friends'.

"What do you think, Uncle Alfred?" Peter asked, peeking over the back of the couch at my computer. "You think Iggy would let me?"

"Do what?" I had gotten used to his childish talk, I had accidentally blocked him out.

"Mentos and Cola." The child smiled.

"Heh, I tried that when I was living with him. Heck no." I laughed, logging out for the day. I almost had the idea to drop Peter off at Matthew's house and then go back to New York for a day or two, just to get away from all of this. I didn't really want to deal with the whole 'World Meeting' thing anymore, all the meetings just fried my brains and I became so nervous, I acted like an idiot.

"Really?" Peter asked. "Could we mess with Mentos and Cola here? You're cool and all, so I thought..."

"Oh, boy. Your nose is turning brown." I laughed, confusing him. His befuddled expression made me rethink my words, I sighed and explained. "You're sucking up, big time."

"You Americans with your weird way of talking." He shook his head at me, little smile looking beyond happy. "No wonder we don't know what you're talking about half the time."

"I'm back...Peter?" Arthur came through my front door, a little tired looking.

"Iggy! I was about to dabble in Mentos and Cola if it weren't for you to come back for me!" Peter trotted up to him, smiling. "Can we go home and play with them?"

"No." Arthur said shortly. The more I looked at my brother, I frowned and closed my computer.

"Dude, what's on your face?" I asked, hinting at the red smudge at the corner of his lip. He quickly rubbed it away, almost glaring at me.

"Some woman randomly came up to me, decided I was the sexiest man alive, and started eating my face." He said quickly. I just laughed, shaking my head.

"With your bushy brows, I don't think so." I stretched, sighing to myself. "I think I might need a trip to New York here soon. I'm getting worn out from being here."

"You make so many trips over there, it makes me think you're making a taboo happen." Arthur said sternly.

"That red smudge on your lip makes me think _you're_ making a taboo happen." I snarkily replied, moving the computer off my lap and getting up. "Seriously, what were you doing?"

"I'll tell you later." Arthur sighed.

"What's a 'taboo'?"

"It's a game. A fun game. With a buzzer. And cards." He told his little follower. "Head out to the car, we'll leave soon."

Peter went off with a quick nod, heading out the front door and accidentally slamming it on the way out.

"You have a relationship, don't you?" I laughed, pointing at him. "You had a frisky night with a girl!"

"Don't you dare say anything to Ludwing." Arthur spat, pointing a finger at him. "I left Caroline this morning and-"

"Oh, her name is Caroline, now is it?" I crossed my arms over my chest, smiling a little bit. "Tell me, does Caroline have a dog?"

"...Why do you need to know?"

"You're covered in dog hair, dude. Either you had a date with a human, or you slept in a kennel overnight." I shrugged. "You really need to hide your stuff better, dude."

"You're not going to say anything, right?" Arthur breathed, taking off his jacket and inspecting it. His expression soured as he saw all the stray hairs. "Anyways, we didn't get 'fancy', I slept on the couch and we had a nice conversation before I left. Nothing happened."

"As long as I'm still my own country, I'm not going to tell." I said. "It's better than having that heterosexual relation thing like Felicio and Ludwing..."

"What?"

"...It's a trope. Just google it." I sighed, patting his shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my single and non-dating bachelor self to do some business." I strode to the stairs, smiling to myself.

"I have no clue what you said, but okay. I'll see you later then!" Arthur called, finally leaving the house.

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I quickly went back down and went straight for the coat closet and grabbed a random jacket and my wallet from the table by my keys. Throwing on a pair of shoes I hightailed it to the basement to the 'Back Door'. I straightened myself up, turning on the switch next to the door, the little house light blinked on, meaning I could go through. Twisting the knob, the outside was dark. Maybe it was night there?

Sighing as I walked through the door and found stairs. It was a subway. The smell gave it away, and with a smile, I walked up the stairs and found myself on the street. The people and the traffic were almost like music, and the stinging cold of the wintry air made me smile.

"Oh, New York," I sighed, jamming my hands in my pockets and walking forward. "How I've missed you."

* * *

_First chapter, I'll get more soon. _

_I really need to get some sort of stuff sorted out and I'll be good._

_Review, and I'll continue! :D_


	2. Chapter 2

_...I'm an updating monster. Grawwr!_

* * *

Walking down the street, I realized that New York had changed since the last time I was here. Things were cleaner, still not as friendly, and a couple coffee shops dotted the streets alongside the numerous boutiques and places to eat.

"I could seriously use a cup of coffee." I muttered to myself, digging my hand out of my pocket long enough to move my glasses up my nose. I could smell a cup just waiting for me when I mindlessly strode up to a random coffee shop. Somehow, it wasn't all that busy. A couple people hung out by the short row of stools by the counter, and a few people sparsely populated the booths along the walls. It was small, almost quaint to my standards. I'd love one of these in my neighborhood, actually. One of the girls from the booth looked up at me, a little surprised. She got up and grabbed her apron from the spot next to her and scurried behind the counter. Her brown hair was cut short, but it was a little shaggy and it was about at her earlobes. The lobes themselves were adorned with a pair of dangle earrings. She was dressed 'Like an artist' as her button on her apron said.

"Sorry about that, we're not so busy and I thought I could go on break." She said, quickly washing her hands at the counter sink in the back.

"Oh, it's fine," I breathed, looking abound. I liked this. I really did.

"So, what did you want today?" Her honey-colored eyes were almost enough to make me go bonkers. Holding it all down, I tried to manage a decent conversation.

"Er, uh, a cup of you-! Oh crud." She burst out laughing as I facepalmed myself, glancing up at the menu. "Just...A cup of the house blend to go. Gah, I'm so dumb..."

"No, it's fine." She giggled, trying to regain her composure while pulling out a cup. She scrawled something down on the cup, pouring some coffee into it. "You want any sugar or anything in it?"

"I'd make another joke, but I think I might get 'boo'ed out of here." I smiled. She really was cute. "Just creamer in there, by the way."

"Not to mention, you'd overdo it." She said smartly, sloshing in the creamer and snapping on the lid. "You wanna cookie or something to go with that? It'll cost fifty cents less."

I looked at the display, brow arched. "I dunno..." She just smiled, shaking her head.

"It's fine if you don't." She glanced back at me, smiling. "Could you maybe stay a little bit, though? I've got an art project for one of my college classes and I have to draw a complete stranger, and you're as strange as it gets."

Laughing a little, I thought about it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... "Are you sure I'm not _too _strange?"

She tapped her finger to her chin, a permanent marker in her hand as she scrawled something down on the cup. "Nah. I just need a quick sketch and I'll be good."

It ended up that we sat across from each other, I tried to keep a straight face. In the reflections of one of the mirrors in the shop, I realized how young Earth made me look. It might have been a year or three...but who was counting. I looked eighteen.

"So, an art project?" I asked, trying to keep the face I had. Sipping my coffee, I looked at her, furiously sketching on a sheet of paper on a clipboard.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to draw three interesting or odd people. I have one left to do, and this is going on my semester grade." She said, glancing up at me. "Working at a coffee shop, you wouldn't think I would be too picky on who I'd pick to draw..." Looking up at me again, she frowned. "Are you naturally that...pale?"

I just shrugged, smiling to myself. "It's not exactly sunny in New York all the time."

"Stop smiling." She poked my arm, going back to her drawing. "I've got you looking all serious, and I need you to be serious."

"Okay, serious talk here, but what's your name?"

"Name's Max." She said, almost serious. "Not 'Maxine', 'Maxie', or any other thing. 'Max', like the dog."

"Named after a dog, that's harsh." I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Well, what about you?" She shot back. "You look like a 'Sammy' to me, maybe Buddy."

"Alfred, actually." I smirked, getting scolded almost instantly.

"I'm just gonna say you're a 'Freddie'." Max muttered quietly, hoping it would evade my ears.

We talked for a while until she was finished, and she showed me the picture. Looking at it, I just let my mouth go agape. "Well, you've got skills." I said, my cup not even half empty, we had been talking that much. It looked as realistic as she could get it, but I could tell that she wasn't comfortable with drawing glasses.

"Eh, I've got room to improve." She shrugged, looking at it from the clipboard. "I'm trying to go into Graphic Design, but the way I'm failing my math classes and stuff isn't helping."

The clock on the wall read noon, and I heard my stomach reply. She looked at me oddly, eyebrow quizzically arched. I just patted my belly, smiling to myself. (She really made me smile...I don't know why.) "Belly says hello, by the way."

"Maybe me, you and belly should go out for a meal or something." Max said, getting up and heading back to the counter. "You know, and actually talk?"

"Sure." I nodded, getting up with the cup of coffee in hand.

I only realized as I left, that she scrawled her name and number on the cup. 'Call me sometime, cutie! -Max 867-9305'

Right about then, I wished I called her right away.


	3. Chapter 3

I had seriously thought of myself as 'Lucky'. Having my 'family' problems and still winding up sane was my 'luck', and not hitting someone's head in when they said I was 'irresponsible' was another act of 'luck' and perseverance. But that was when I was home. Here, I was jumping up and down in my New York apartment, feeling like some sort of war hero coming home to meet the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Sure, sure...call me weird, but when you're talking with people like Switzerland, you're doing war with the simple mention of Peace Prizes.

"Oh man..." I groaned, looking around. Everything was as I left it, the cleaners had been here after the slight mention of me coming home. My mind was swimming, and the rest of me was just ready to plop on the couch and lay around watching sports or something. I threw my keys into the dish by the door, kicked off my shoes, took a few steps while throwing my coat on the ground and then proceeded to rip off my socks and flop over the back of the couch and fetch the remote from the stand by the couch. "This...This is totally my paradise."

Flipping on the television, there was coincidentally a program on the Revolutionary War. Intrigued by their thoughts, I tuned in, watching from my side.

_"...The Colonies wanted freedom from Britain because of the terrible taxes. Imagine it. It's just terrible."_

"You should taste his cooking and live with him for a few years. You'd revolt, too." I muttered, finally turning the channel to ESPN. They were playing soccer today, Felicio's team and Arthur's were facing off, and I was pretty sure that Arthur was going to lose.

My phone went off, and I instantly picked it up and answered.

"Yello." I said, an irritated huff from the other end alerted me that it was Arthur. "Oh shi...taki mushrooms."

"Where the bloody hell are you?" Arthur almost yelled, a crowd could be heard in the background.

"I'm in Your mom's house, talking about how you're a terrible cook and your breath smells like poop." I said, shutting the television off and getting up off the couch. "I'm not telling you where I am, Arthur. I need a break."

"Like hell do you need a break." He growled. "There's a conference and we need you!"

"Okay, okay." I said, cooly thinking of some sort of smart remark as I looked out the window. "Right after I get done here." Smirking to myself, I held the phone far away from me, raising my voice a couple octaves. "Alfred, when are you coming back? I realize you have a call but...babe,"

"In a minute~" I answered myself, smirking at the phone. "I gotta go."

"What! What was! Who was that? Alllffffrreeeedddddd!" He drew out. I shut my phone off and tossed it to the counter, where nobody would contact me. He didn't know where I was, and I had changed apartments. He would never, ever find me.

"Oh, Arthur. What an impressionable mind." I sighed, frowning when I remembered Max. I picked up the phone and turned it back on. "Okay, okay..." I had the phone number from the cup in my phone already, and I had gotten myself set on texting her.

'Hey, it's Alfred. About that date... :)'

Oh, the cornyness of me. That was gonna be my end.

After a couple minutes, I got a quick reply.

'Oh, hey Freddie! :D Umm... a date? Oh, I didn't say anything about a date :P'

I just sat there for a minute. What was I getting myself into.

'Well then...I forgot what you said, refresh my memory?' Smooth. Real smooth.

'I think I told you Lunch at noon tomorrow at a little place called Gaza-Deli. It's a block or two from the coffee shop. :)'

Scrawling down the reminder, I realized that was one of places I actually frequented earlier in time. Maybe they still remembered the spit wads I did...

My phone rang again, this time it was Mister Iggy returning. With a laugh, I responded. "Hello?"

"You bloody ingrate! You know how much danger you have put yourself in? Being with that...that..." He growled, I could already hear his heart attack coming. Oh wait.

"Dude, calm your ovens, I'm not having some sort of affair. Gad, you just need to chill." I smiled, making the woman voice again. "Alfred would never get in trouble with Iggy, since he's such a good boy."

"You...You I hate you. I hate you so much right now, you yank." Arthur growled, audibly running a hand down his face. "But seriously! You're missing a meeting!"

"Lithuania's the scribe there, he'll take notes and I'll review, and he'll give me the notes when I get back, then I'll get my own opinion out there. Seriously, you're gonna rupture something."

"We're immortal, you idiot! We can't die, so I could mangle you up into millions of pieces, but we'd still have you around! Sure it would take a little more than an hour for you to get yourself back together, but still. I would do it every day if I could, just to see you suffer and learn your lesson." Arthur snapped.

"Oh. Forgot about that." I smiled, scratching the back of my head a little. The traffic outside was bunching up, the rush hour had started once again. "Remember that time when I dropped a bomb on Kiku? That ended well, didn't it?"

"That was terrible of you." Arthur growled. "But you changed the subject."

"I did, didn't I?" I sighed, my phone beeped in my ear. "I got a text, dude."

"Don't you dare!" He yelled at me. "NO no no no no no no no no no no no n-!" I hung up on him, smiling to myself when I checked the message.

'Seeya later, Freddie-boy. :))'

Why did the moment there seem so...right? Here I was, socializing with a girl other than Ivan's sisters and Elizabeta, being a happy son of a dog.

Why did that cause so many problems with Arthur?


	4. Chapter 4

_I do suppose I should update this, because I love you all and you've probably been waiting for this for a while. Long story short, I got writer's block, and I got locked out of my computer. PM me if you wanna know. e_e_

* * *

So it was that day that we had lunch at that Italian place I had frequented, and thank goodness they didn't recognize me. I was glad for that, since I kind of was trying to be fresh and new and crap...But either way, we were sitting at the table, just talking.

"...I think I hear a little Canadian, Max." I said, watching her sip her water. I was nice enough to buy and everything, but she insisted on water. "Where are you originally from?"

"Hmmh," She sputtered, smiling as she almost choked. "One minute..." Max smiled, holding up her hand and catching her breath.

"Are you dying?" I chuckled, patting her back even as she waved me off.

"No, I'm just..." Max breathed, clearing her throat. "I'm from Minnisota originally with me and my five brothers, and my mom was friends with a woman who adopted a kid, he was real quiet..."

Well, that sounded familiar. Quiet kid, adopted...It could have been Matthew. Could have. "Oh really? Five brothers?" I blinked, nodding a little. "Alright, so if I challenge you to football, will you pummel me to death?"

"You know it, Freddie."

The conversation went like that even through lunch, both of us being as childish as the other. We were eventually talking about Max's family, how her brothers Larry, Harry, Barry, Garry and Robert were all doing, and how she was smack in the middle of them.

"I don't know how my parents seriously did it." She sighed. "I don't want to have boys when I get married and all that stupid crap..." Max poked at the little cheesecake they brought out, the thing was about as wide as a slice of pizza and was rich enough to clog a person up. Max and I had managed to eat at least half, but I had to 'keep my figure'...then she realized I had a little pair of love handles going on and socked me in the arm.

"Why not? Boys are fun, right?"

"When your dating them, sure. They seem like little monsters when they're young!" She laughed, not too serious, right?

"Psh, I love kids. And they like me for the most part. My brother's taking care of his kid, Peter, and I kind of think he's nice..." Okay, now I was lying. Peter drove me nuts on certain occasions, like when he asked stupid questions.

"Really?" Max nodded, eyebrows arched. "What's your brother like?"

"He's a stiff person, just really...really...not fun." I cracked up laughing after that last part, shaking my head. "He's all stuck up, and he thinks that the world revolves around tea." Oh, he was going to kill me if he found out I said that.

"He can't be that bad." She said in return, frowning seriously before breaking out in a smile. "Can he?"

"Um, yeah." I smiled. "Heh heh, he's a party pooper."

The afternoon was great, I couldn't have asked for anything else. She and I walked down the street afterwards, the cold air was actually quite refreshing and I could honestly try and hold her hand at that point, if not for it being in her coat pocket. "You know, you're really staring at my pocket, right?"

"Hm?" I hadn't noticed, wrenching me from my thoughts. "I am?"

"Yeah, it's kinda cute." She smiled in return, pulling her gloved hand out of her pocket. "I'm not much of a hand holder myself, but if you like to, I guess I can let you have a hand to hold."

"Thanks..." I somehow managed a goofy smile, taking her hand in mine. Holy crap, was it warm...and it kind of made my heart jump a bit. "So, would you maybe wanna go for another date? I'd like to see you again, Max."

"Sure, sounds good to me, just call me when you're in town again." Max smiled, swinging her arm a bit. "Oh, and I turned in my people sketches, right?"

"Yeah? Did your professer like them?"

"She liked everyone's...but yours. She made me redo it." She smiled a bit, a giggle in her tone. "She said that your sketch was 'too perfect to be a person'."

"What?" I broke out laughing as well, shaking my head. "Oh, that's...that's just too good!"

"I was thinking about tossing it for a bit, but it's still sitting on my dresser."

People around us were just glancing at this point, some of the other girls on the street coming home from school were giggling, but Max didn't seem to mind.

"How long's it gonna stay on your dresser, may I ask?"

"I don't know." Max muttered, stopping suddenly at an art store window. "Oh God..."

All I saw was a case of Copic Markers that I had seen Kiku doodling with, and a bunch of other things that were for artists. "Art supplies?"

"Yep...I love those markers so much, there's a few in my class that I usually use, and they're so expensive..." She sighed, looking sadly at the case. "I'd buy some if I weren't paying for classes."

"You never know, maybe you'll get some someday."

"Yeah, when I win the lottery." She huffed, tugging me along again. "What do you do? I mean, are you in school or anything?"

"I'm an ambassador for..." I stopped myself, almost spilling my guts.

"For...?" She arched her brows, actually interested.

"I'm an ambassador for a company my brother has." I said, covering myself for now. "I just happened to have the qualifications, and it means he doesn't have to cut his paycheck in half for me." Way to make Arthur look like a meanie, right?

"Oh...wow." She chuckled a bit. "Handed right to yah, hunh?"

"It doesn't mean I get a butt load of money, I'm still doing student loans myself." Okay, maybe some sort of loans that dealt with money, but I guess I still was paying for colleges... "I went local, so yeah."

"Ah, one of those community colleges?" Max asked. "My brother did that, he got a good job at the head of a Wal-Mart in Saint Paul."

"Good for him," I nodded, looking back at her. "Hey, you're not bummed out at all, are you?"

"No, not at all. I'm just thinking." She blinked, glancing at me. "Hey, and about that next date..."

"What about it?" She purposely changed the subject, which wasn't a good sign.

"I expect a kiss, and possibly some flowers at my door." She smiled, handing me a slip of paper. "If you don't mind, Mister Freddie."

"Don't tempt me, kay?" I chuckled, holding her hand a little tighter. I walked her home, wondering how I'd get a bunch of roses to her in this kind of climate without them dying...

* * *

(A few days later)

Home made me older again, and Arthur was waiting at my front door, just ready to bite my head off and throw it to Germany. I never knew twenty five was so different from eighteen...

"Alfred Fitzgerald Jones, you'd better have a good explanation," He seethed, sitting at the kitchen table, the cup of coffee in front of him wasn't touched, he was that mad at me. "You missed two meetings, and Toris was left to take notes, and the poor man's hand cramped up."

"So? Doesn't that happen to everyone?" I shrugged, poking around for something to snack on. I'd have to get groceries soon, and order those flowers... "We're kinda human, right?"

"'Kinda'?" Arthur echoed, brows angry at me. "Alfred, I've gone through this with you since you were Peter's age. We're only human in the human world. Here, we're a kind of god that..." He groaned, shaking his head. "You know what, I'm not even going there. You know better than I do, Alfred."

"Dude, I was just there looking around." I said, finally setting on a lone Smucker penut butter and jelly sandwich that was just sitting in the cupboard by the tomato soup. "I talked a bit, and then came home."

"Sure, sure..." He rolled his eyes, glaring. "Just watch yourself. If you go on anymore trips that keep you from meetings, I'm going to get Ludwig to suspend you from Earth, got it?"

"Oh, you're so scary, dude." I mocked, shaking my head. "And I'll just say something about your booty calls."

"Alfred, I'm being serious." Arthur said, glaring up at me. "You make one wrong move, and your immortality's going to be gone before you can regret it."

I just sat there, leaning on the counter munching on the sandwich. Jelly was oozing out one side of it, and I wasn't really too concerned with it until it stained my shirt later that day. "Okay, I'll keep a watch on myself, Arthur. Only make visits when there aren't any meetings, I'll keep my phone on, and possibly call you before I leave, okay bro?"

"That would put my mind at total ease, Alfred." Arthur sighed, expression going back to a nicer one. "I do try to tell you when I'm going out, don't I?"

"You do, sure..." I sighed. '_Not really...' _ "But yeah. Thanks for the visit anyways."

"Not a problem, Alfred." He smiled, picking up the mug and taking a sip of coffee. "I enjoy visiting sometimes."

I was going back that weekend. I know I was. Send Max the flowers, call Max, set up a date, then I was going to head over there and have another date.

And another...And another...

* * *

_Did anyone think I died? :D_


	5. Chapter 5

_..I'm in love with the song 'cut off line' by Ashe (Originally Gumi, but...Oh well)_

* * *

I kept seeing Max weeks after that. I couldn't stop thinking of her, especially when Kiku was drawing. He had his Copic Markers out, tracing and coloring a panel of a comic he was drawing. "Hey, whatcha doin?"

"Drawring." He said, inspecting his work. "You're interested in anime and drawing now?"

"No, I've got a friend who is, though." I sighed, stretching casually. "How much do those markers cost?"

"Eh? Um, about six dollars each, or a pack of seventy-two is about three-hundred dollars."

"Holy cow, dude..." I blinked, looking at them again. "I'll take all the colors you have."

"Wh-What?" He looked up at me again, this time his face was just priceless. "Y-Y-You really-? That's...! That's at least nine-hundred dollars! In your money!"

"Yeah, I've got pocket change to spare. Oh, and throw in a pack of lining markers, too."

Max would die when the package would end up on her doorstep. I wouldn't tell her it was from me, not until she and I got a little more steady. Well, Kiku placed the order and I decided to visit Max again, this time with another bouquet of flowers, like she told me to 'promise'. Either way, on my way out, Francis had caught me thinking.

"Alfred, could I speak to you?" He called, his accent made me dread even looking like I was thinking of Max. He had a smug smile when I turned around, hands on his hips. "In private."

I cursed myself, rolling my eyes and trying to force out a hero voice. "Sure, whatevs...what about, Frenchie?" I asked, following him when he waved me along away from everyone.

"I can't help but to see you so deep in thought, Amérique." Francis said, making me curse even harder. I was pretty much mentally hitting my head against an anvil, trying to cover it all.

"Oh really? You know, I'm just a little stressed and all, it's no biggie." I lied.

"...And thinking about someone très spécial, no?" He smirked in my direction, making my face red. Oh God, he knew.

"...Yes." I said quietly. "But Ludwig can't know, a-alright?"

"I-I was just kidding about it, Alfred, I didn't think...!" He said with a Frenchie chuckle, stopping in the hallway. "You younger people are just so funny, no?"

"What?"

"I didn't have to do any prodding to find out what you've been hiding, that's all." Francis sighed. "You all say you're strong, but when it comes to things like these, you're weak in the knees."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What's her name?"

I paused for a bit, frowning and blushing at the same time.

"Come on, tell me. I'm the least of your problems, really. I won't tell anyone about your special lover, Alfred." He shrugged his shoulders, still smiling.

"Her name is Max." I said quietly, looking down. "And she likes drawing and art and stuff...And we've been going out for two months."

"That long?" Francis blinked, a little surprised. "I would have thought someone like you would have caved in and told."

"What about you? You seem to have a fli-"

"No, I don't." He said quickly. "I might as well tell you now before you hurt yourself." He looked serious now, a little dark in the face. "Don't get attached. If Ludwig or anyone knows, they'll be vigilant and take her away from you. They might not burn her at the stake or something, but...They'll make sure you hurt for your deeds."

"What?" What was he saying? Was he speaking from experience...? Then it hit me. Jeanne D'Arc. He had loved that girl to death, and their relationship had gotten tangled in a fight with Arthur and...He took it on himself to capture her and then... "I-I'll be careful..."

"Good. I'd hate to see you go to bits and pieces, _cher._" He patted my shoulder with a faint smile, trotting off right after that. "I'll see you later, Alfred~"

"Right..." I quietly agreed. Well...On that note, I really wanted to go see Max and make sure that we weren't too serious, now...Everything was just so confusing, I could have swore my head was spinning. I was still going to send her the markers. I knew that.

Now...to sneak away...

* * *

"And you're sure that you got these from here?" Max asked, cutting the ends of the stems with a pair of scissors in the kitchen, looking at them happily.

"Yeah, there was a shop open, so..." I smiled in return, leaning on the counter by her. "I thought what the heck? You wanted some, right?"

"I didn't think you could get them in the middle of winter, though!"

"I'm Mister Amazing, how couldn't I?" That earned me a bit of a smile and some brownie points, but oh well, right? "So, did you want to catch a movie or anything?"

"I'm actually a bit tight with money right now, so I can't...And I don't want you spoiling me, Freddie." She found a wide cup from the stack on the counter and filled it with water, arranging the flowers in it. "Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm a daisy person...I do like lilies, though."

"Note taken." I nodded. "So, if you don't want to go out, do you just wanna stay in?"

"Sounds good to me...Oh! I've got a bit of ice cream and stuff in the freezer along with Doctor Who and Sherlock...You wanna have a marathon?"

"Do British television shows always have some sort of coolness to them?" She beamed in extreme joy, tackling me with a hug. "Get whatever you want out of the freezer, but stay away from the Dove Chocolate~ I'll set up the DVD player and stuff!"

She scurried off, smiling and squealing all the way. '_Adorable._' I thought, poking into the freezer of the fridge, which had a couple magnets and pictures on it of her family. Her brothers all looked alike, and it was kind of cool to say the least. Ice cream, frozen fruit, a frezerburnt pound of hamburger and ice sat in the icebox. In the fridge was a can of Redi-whip and a bottle of Magic Shell topping in the cupboard. Spooning up a couple sundaes, I walked into the living room, blinking at the look she was giving me.

"Sit, Watson." She said, patting the spot next to her where a blanket sat. She had an odd hunting hat like Elmer Fudd wears and a pipe in her mouth. Oh, this was hilarious.

"When did I become Watson?" Plopping down next to her and handing her the bowl and spoon, we started the marathon.

"Oh, and by the way, the heat kicks off at six, so it'll get kinda cold." She said, contently staring at the television.

"Why's that? Saves money?"

"Yup...It's just what the renter and I agreed on. It's fine, right?"

She was living in a crappy apartment and letting herself freeze at night so she could cut back on costs? How was she making ends meet then? I just scooted a little closer, pretending to mind my own business. She didn't pay much mind until I bumped her shoulder, then she frowned.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Max asked, nudging me back a bit. "We've got like, an hour before the heat turns off."

"M'kay then, Sherlock." Nudging back, we started a war, and it ended up with me getting poked in the gut. I rolled out a loud yell, bursting into laughs. "H-Holy Mother of-!"

"You're ticklish?" Max blinked, a wide grin came across her face. "Oh, this'll be fun..."

"K-Kinda..." I breathed, shaking my head. "Just don't, I might hit ya or something."

"...Fine then." She rolled her eyes, smiling still.

"Are you ticklish? I can't tell if Vikings are ticklish or not." They weren't. I tried. Once.

"Nah..." Max sighed, spooning another bit of ice cream into her mouth. "But I do like hugging."

Wait, was she...Was she trying to get at something? There was a moment of silence before I decided that I could do one thing, and one thing only. I went to kiss her on the cheek, but she was just about to turn and say something to me when I ended up kissing her lips, shocking both of us.

She just blinked while I was frozen there like an idiot, and something kind of...sparked. Extreme chills ran down my spine, and I felt like I was getting a little tired. I pulled away and it stopped, both of us were just fine after that.

"W-Wow..." She said quietly. "...Bravo, Watson...Bravo..."

...I just have one thing to say about it: Screw Arthur and Francis' warnings. That was frikken great.


End file.
